"The effect was decent enough."
Takeshi looked on with satisfaction as Pakura forcibly shattered the Ice Mirror and broke out of the genjutsu. If this had been an actual battle, the opening created by this new ninjutsu would've been more than enough for him to kill her several times over.
The positioning could still use a little improvement.
Also, he needed to name this technique.
Hmm, might as well borrow again.
It wasn't really Takeshi's fault for copying others so often. If he had to come up with names on his own, his naming skills might not even be as good as Minato's.
"I've decided, let's call it 'Kyoka Suigetsu'!"
Takeshi smacked his forehead and settled on the name for his new technique, then turned to Pakura beside him.
"Alright, stop sulking. I promise you, when the time comes, I'll personally take you to take down Rasa, take down Chiyo, and take down Ebizō!"
Hearing Takeshi's promise, Pakura suddenly looked up, her birch-colored eyes locking firmly on him.
"Really?"
"Of course it's real. I've been fed up with that 'Mister Market Value' for a long time now."
Takeshi nodded. That guy Rasa, always measuring people by their worth—it was time someone measured him.
"'Mister Market Value,' huh? Pfft..."
Upon hearing Rasa's new nickname, Pakura, who had been depressed a moment ago, couldn't help but let out a laugh. She quickly covered it up, avoiding Takeshi's curious gaze.
Maybe... being rescued wasn't such a bitter thing after all.
Yeah, she couldn't stay down any longer.
Pakura knew Rasa was strong. With his Magnet Release, he could control gold dust at will to attack enemies. She alone wasn't a match for him.
She had to become stronger!
Strong enough that even Rasa couldn't defeat her. He would have to kneel down, beg her for forgiveness, and repent for his blindness!
...
Kikyō Pass battlefield.
Seven days had passed since the war broke out.
At this moment, Rasa—granted the "mighty" title by Pakura—was standing on a platform of gold dust, floating mid-air.
Below him, Sarutobi Hiruzen had summoned the Monkey King Enma and transformed him into the Adamantine Staff.
This was Rasa's first time seeing Hiruzen in this battle-ready state, and he was being extremely cautious. He forced himself to ignore the screams of agony from nearby allied shinobi.
This was bad. Orochimaru had also arrived at the Kikyō Pass battlefield.
Chiyo was being held back by Orochimaru and couldn't assist, forcing Rasa to face this famed Ninjutsu Professor alone.
"Take this!"
Just as Rasa was contemplating his next move, Hiruzen suddenly shouted, prompting him to throw up his gold dust in defense.
The Adamantine Staff, only slightly taller than Hiruzen, suddenly extended skyward, thrusting up from the ground and piercing through Rasa's golden wall.
Dodging with a quick tilt of his head and feeling the sharp gust of wind slicing past, Rasa's heart skipped a beat.
If he hadn't moved in time, he'd have been smashed in the head.
But it wasn't over yet.
A large, furry hand suddenly reached out from the staff and grabbed Rasa by the throat.
With a sharp twist, Rasa's neck snapped on the spot. His limp corpse turned to gold dust and trickled down from the sky.
"A gold dust clone? Then the real body must be here!"
Retracting the staff to its normal size, Hiruzen thrust it into the ground and vaulted up with a pole jump, narrowly dodging a surge of gold dust erupting from below.
"Magnet Release: Gold Dust Imperial Funeral!"
Missing his mark, Rasa rose from the golden tide, sweeping his hands to condense the gold dust into sharp spires resembling bamboo shoots.
With a loud metallic clash, the spikes were smashed apart by the Adamantine Staff. Seizing the opportunity, Hiruzen extended the staff again.
Having been burned once, Rasa turned to dodge while also commanding the gold dust to shield him, making it harder for Enma's giant hand to reach him again.
"This is really troublesome."
Rasa found himself facing an opponent with strong anti-air capabilities, deadly close-range skills, and terrifying ninjutsu. For the moment, he had no idea how to deal with this former Hokage.
There was no other choice but to go all in.
A steely resolve flashed in Rasa's eyes as he frantically gathered every bit of gold dust nearby.
He was betting everything on this attack.
Watching the surging gold dust wave, Hiruzen sensed imminent danger.
"Earth Release: Earth Wall!"
With a deep breath, he spat out a chunk of phlegm. A massive earth wall, over ten meters tall, formed instantly. With staff in one hand and scaling with the other, Hiruzen agilely climbed to the top.
But the wall's foundation quickly crumbled under the pressure of the gold dust wave, causing the entire structure to shake and teeter.
"This isn't good."
Hiruzen knew that if he fell into the gold dust, he would surely be buried.
The dense gold dust crushed the wall and instantly buried Hiruzen.
Clenching his right fist, Rasa caused the gold dust to compress violently—then explode.
"That should've done it."
Rasa was confident that he hadn't given Hiruzen any time to use a substitution or clone.
Hiruzen thought the same.
As the gold dust dispersed, a cage made of dozens of Adamantine Staffs appeared before Rasa.
"Not good!"
Realizing he was in trouble, Rasa turned to retreat—only to be struck in the shoulder by a perfectly-timed extended staff from Hiruzen.
With a loud crunch of breaking bones, the Fourth Kazekage was sent flying, a scene that happened to be witnessed by Chiyo, who was still engaged with Orochimaru.
"That damn old man!"
Seeing her Kazekage overwhelmed by Hiruzen, Chiyo quickened her attacks, intending to finish off Orochimaru.
At this point, Orochimaru hadn't yet developed any groundbreaking scientific achievements. His overall strength was only moderately improved from the Second Great Ninja War. He had no clear solution to dealing with Chiyo and her elite puppets.
But even if he didn't—Manda did.
"Summoning Technique!"
Sensing Chiyo's killing intent, Orochimaru gave her no chance to act. He immediately summoned Manda.
The enormous serpent appeared on the battlefield, instantly crushing Chiyo's offensive momentum and forcing her to abandon the fight.
"Retreat!"
Without hesitation, she made the decision for Rasa. The Sunagakure forces, carrying the injured Kazekage, hastily retreated.
"Sensei."
Seeing his teacher not far away, Orochimaru knew that to quickly end this war, Hiruzen had to seize this opportunity.
"I understand."
Hearing the implication in Orochimaru's voice, Hiruzen summoned four shadow clones and, using his superior speed, caught up with the retreating Sunagakure forces.
"Five Release Great Combo Technique!"
A torrent of violent explosions engulfed the Sand ninja ranks. Even though Chiyo had anticipated this move, she couldn't stop it in time.
Only Rasa, enduring his pain, barely managed to reform his gold dust and erect a decent defensive barrier for the army.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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